Cushioned handball mitt



r Sept. 13,. 1960 FlNN 2,952,021

CUSHIONED HANDBALL MITT Filed Aug. 18, 1958 INVENTOR. MATn/EWM /'7/wv Uni s 7 2,952,021 CUSHIONED HANDBALL MITT Matthew M. Finn, 6356 De Longpre Ave., Hollywood, Calif.

This invention relates generally to cushioned handball mitts and more particularly to a'handball mitt which covers the hand with relatively stiff backhand and forehand panels supported on a peripheral wall of compressible'cushion. In the preferred species, the panels are provided with a novel disposition of ventilation holes and inner cushions for the hands of the player.

Although most persons interested in the games of tennis, handball, and the like prefer the racket games because of the greater variety of possible strokes, such games are necessarily limited in their availability to players because of the large courts and expensive equipment required. 7

' Handball has been accepted as a fairly good compromise by players, but it has disadvantages also in that handball courts have generally been quite large and there are limitations on the type of possible strokes; for example, backhand strokes are not practical in handball.

It is possible to greatly reduce the area and volume of ball court required by employing a so-called dead ball, ie a hollow rubber ballwith one orrnore ventilation openings which result in a greatly reduced flight distance for the ball under a blow of a given power. However, the loss in driving distance for the ball would deprive a dead ball game of interest if it were not for the possibility of a variety of racket-like strokes made possible by the present invention. Such strokes are impossible with the bare hand, and the deadball may represent even greater danger of bruises than in the case of the ordinary handball. p l F "Previously known handball gloves are utterly unsuited to. the purposes of the present inventio n. Mosthave a padded palm of foldable and irregular surface forcupping" the ballpsuch palms are unsuited to racket-type strokes.- .iMoreover, theback of the usual handball grove .iSTmerely. afiexiblepieceof leather provided with many ventilating openings and is utterly unsuited to any backhand strokes whatever.

Heretofore, handball has been played with a glove which had to be supplied in a series of sizes to fit different sized hands, and finger lengths. It is important of the present invention to provide a single mitt suitable for hands'of all sizes by virtue of resilient padding which adjusts itself to accommodate the palm and fingers of any normal hand.

It is a major object of the present invention to provide a handball mitt by means of which a player can apply a racket-type stroke either forehand orbackhand, which strokes can be executed with greater accuracy and precision than with any type of racketor paddle. These surfaces permit easy execution of the oblique contact shots known as English, and reverse English.

It 'is a further object of the invention to provide a handball mitt with plane surfaces of substantially rigid structure so that the player can execute both forehand and backhand strokes in the same manner as he would with a racket.

Sims Pa e "Q",

It is another object of the invention to provide a' handball mitt capable of absorbing the energy of large shocks without any danger of bruising the hand of the' player.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a' ventilation system which will generate a flow of air around the palm of the player so that the interior of the mitt can be kept relatively cool and dry of perspiration.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention are accomplished by means of a novel structure combining heavy leather forehand and backhand panels joined by a peripheral wall of sponge rubber or a similar material.

The objects and advantages of the invention will best be understood from the following description of one specific embodiment, which should be read in connec- 5 tion with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a mitt constructed according to the invention as seen from theback of the players hand; v

Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of the mitt as seen in the direction of the arrows in Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view of the lower half of the mitt as viewed inthe direc'tion'of the arrows 3- 3 in Figure 2.

In Figure 1, the mitt, indicated generally by the arrow 10, is seen to be constructed to enclose a wearerls hand, as-it is held out flat, between a backhand panel 11 and a forehand or palm panel 12, which are both preferably of a stiff but fiexibleleatherp The two panels are joined at their periphery by a sponge rubber side wall 13. A wrist opening at 14 is enclosed with a wristlet 15, which is preferably of some resiliently constricting material such as elasticized cotton knit. I

The backhand panel 11 is pierced with a large number of ventilating openings 16 which substantially outline the position of the open hand withinthe mitt 10 when it is in use. Figure 3 reveals that the forehand or palm panel 12 is provided with similar holes 17 which are disposed about a "rough'circle much; smaller in diameter than that of the holes 16, for reasons. which will be explained hereinafter. i The cross sectional view of Figure 2 reveals that the side wall 13 diminishes in height from a maximum at thewrist opening 1410 a minimum at the finger tip-p0,- sition 18 'so that the space inside the mitt 10 is wedge shaped in longitudinal cross section. Preferably, the compressible wall 13 is half an inch or morein thickness so that it provides a strong 'springy resistance to any bello'ws type compression which the mitt may "experience du'rin 'play. I

Preferably, the heavy leather panels 11 and 12 are received partly into a double layer wristlet construction 15 as indicated at 19 and 20 to facilitate sewing of the wristlet to the panels, and to provide a cushioning hold on the Wrist of the wearer.

The palm of the hand of the wearer is protected by internal layers of cushioning as seen in the sectional views of both Figure 2 and Figure 3. The palm experiences the hardest and most frequent blows, and is most susceptible to the development of bruises or even severe injuries leading to the development of cysts, etc. The preferred shape of palm cushion illustrated at 21 is a rounded mound, somewhat like a zone of a hemisphere. A finger tip cushion 22 is also provided and is disposed as shown in Figure 3 to provide cushioning for all five fingers. However, it is a preferred construction of the mitt that the palm cushion 21 be substantially higher at its center than the finger tip cushion 22 so as to aid in retaining the mitt 10 on the hand of the wearer. It will also be noted that the palm cushion 21 and the finger tip cushion 22 are separated from each other and from the surrounding side Patented Sept. 13,1950

wall 13 by an area which is occupied in part by the ventillation holes 17. l

The cross sectional view of Figure 2 also reveals that the: inside surface" of the backhand panel 11- has a backhandIcushion' 231 glued over an area indicatedin; dashed resilient materials may be used instead of sponge rubber for the compressible wall 13 and for all the cushions inside of the mitt;v Also, the cushions may be attached by any suitable means, although the high grade plastic resin glues will be found satisfactory and most convenient.

' It should be noted that the holes 17 and the holes 16 do not lie directly opposite one another. As the ball is struck by the panels 11 and 12 while on the hand of the wearer, some bellows action does take place between the two panels and air is thereby pumped through the interior of the mitt. However, it is desirable that this air'be forced to flow over the palm of the wearer rather than merely. directly through the mitt at' the periphery of the hand.

It' will be understood that I have described a specific embodiment of my invention for purposes of illustration only and not for purposes of limitation. Variations and simplifications of my specific embodiment will occur to those to whom the structure of the invention is revealed, and may be constructed without departing from the spirit and scope of the following claims.

. Iclaim:

1. A handball mitt comprising: a relatively stifi flat backhand panel having a plurality of ventilation openings disposed inside the periphery of the mitt and following the same general configuration of said periphery; a relatively stiff flat forehand panel having a plurality of ventil'ation openings disposed inside the periphery defined by the backhand holes; a wall of compressible cushion material joining-said two panels at their peripheries except at a wrist opening, said wall diminishing from amaximum height at said opening to a minimum height at the opposite end; an elasticized wristband; a palm cushion of compressible cushioning material mounted on the inner surface of said forehand panel within the periphery defined by the ventilation openings in said panel; a finger tipcushion mounted on the inner surface of said forehand panel at the end opposite said wristband; and a backhand cushion mounted on the inner surface of said backhand panel within the periphery defined by the ventilation 4 openings therein to protect the backhand and knuckles of a wearer of said mitt. I, p

2. A handball mitt comprising: a relatively stiff backhand panel having a plane surface with a plurality of ventilation openings disposed around a central area and defining a backhand cushioning area; a relatively stiff forehand panel with a plurality of ventilation openings; a thick wall of resilient rubber-like spongy material between said two panels joining them at the sides and finger end of said mitt, saidiwall being substantiallythicker than said panels and compressible in a direction substantially normal to said panels; a palm cushion of compressible cushioning material mounted on the inner surface of said forehand panel over the palm area defined by the ventilation openings in said panel; a finger tip cushion mounted on the inner surface of said forehand panel near the finger tip end thereof and outside of the area defined by said ventilation openings and a backhand cushion covering the inner surface of said backhand panel over said backhand cushioning area defined by said ventilating openings.

3. A handball mitt comprising: a relatively stifi backhand panel having a plane surface with a plurality of ventilation openings disposed around a central area and defining a backhand cushioning area; a relatively stiff forehand panel having a plane surface with a plurality of ventilation openings defining a palm area smaller than said backhand cushioning area; a thick wall of resilient rubber-like spongy material between said two panels joining them at the sides and finger end of said mitt, said wall being substantially thicker than said panels and compressible in a direction substantially normal to said. panels; a band of elasticized material enclosing the wrist end of said mitt and defining an elastically restricted opening; a palm cushion of compressible cushioning material mounted on. theinner surface of said forehand panel over the palm area defined by the ventilation opening in said panel; a finger tip cushion mounted on the inner surface of said forehand panel near the finger tip end thereof and outside of the area defined by said ventilation openings and a backhand cushion covering the inner surface of said backhand panel over said backhand cushioning area defined by said ventilating openings.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 301,847 Whitaker July 8, 1884 1,529,907 Mueller Mar. 17, 1925 2,216,241 Kirchner et a1 Oct. 1, 1940 2,284,300 Portal May 26, 1942 2,577,284 Steinle Dec. 4, i 2,635,240 Tausch Apr. 21, 1953 

